The eye’s tear film is protected from evaporation by an oily substance called meibum. It is produced by glands present on the eye’s rim called the meibomian gland. 50 such glands exist on the upper eye lid and 25 of them are present in the eye lid below. Inflammation of these glands produces cysts on the upper eye lid. The remedy for these cysts is technically known as chalazion treatment. This article tries to gain further insight on this subject.
When is a Treatment Required for Chalazion
Awareness of signs of this condition can lead to the commencement of treatment in early stages. Otherwise, the cysts on the upper eye lids are known to take months of time to get healed completely with treatment. They can be got ridden without any complications after years of time. Some of the symptoms to watch out for are:
- Tenderness of eyelid
- Swelling of the region
- Increase in tearing
- Sensitivity to light
- Heaviness of the eyelid
- The condition being mistaken for a stye
What is Chalazion Treatment
It is generally observed that these cysts disappear by themselves in few months of time or get absorbed in the skin within two years. However, when the signs are of mild to moderate severity, antibiotic ointments or eye drops can be used. In this way, the complication of acute infection is prevented.
If they continue to grow in coming months, then corticosteroids can be injected on them. Larger cysts have to be removed surgically by making the surrounding numb with the help of local anesthesia. Any scar on the skin is avoided by injecting the anesthesia from inside the eyelid.
If the cysts are on the outer surface of the eyelid, an excision or surgical cutting of the growth is carried out. The outer layer of the eyelid is known or mending well and do not leave scars.
The blood can be seen coming out of the vessels and the coloring of the excision site exists for three to four days. The swelling might take more time to get reduced. Though the process lasts for fifteen minutes, the complications like infection and eye lid damage is high. Owing to this reason, the procedure has to be carried out only by medical professionals.
A home remedy to remove cysts on the eyelid is using wet fennel and hot water. The cysts are allowed to absorb the heat. Their size reduces and eventually they fall off.
It is rare that these growths recur. If they do so, a part of the cysts should be cut and the tissues should be placed under powerful microscope to find the presence of any malignancy. The procedure is called biopsy and rules out the possibility of a cancer known as sebaceous cell carcinoma.
The last resort to treat these cysts is surgery. Only 5 percent patients undergo this safe procedure. It is carried out by an ophthalmologist in an eye hospital. Patients taking drugs like aspirin are asked not to them anymore one week prior to the scheduled surgery.
For 10 days the patients should make sure that water does not reach the eyes. Eye drops are recommended to avoid discomforts, infections and swelling. The recover after this chelazion treatment is very quick with very rare complications.
